The Adventures of Arkwright

Yesterday, as we left the house, Julia noticed a woman standing outside and asked if she was OK. She was. She was just pausing to wait for her tortoise as he grazed on the plants in our front garden. They tend to encroach on the footpath.

We run the garden to be attractive to wildlife, but this was the first time we’ve had a tortoise visit.

We’ve never seen him before but his owner says she walks him regularly because it exercises him and keeps his claws worn down. He walks approximately 200 yards, snacks on the hedge at the end house (which has a more riotous garden than we do) and then waits to be carried home.

Arkwright the Tortoise

He is called Arkwright (named after Ronnie Barker‘s character in Open All Hours), walks faster when it is sunny and, when he can be bothered to walk home, knows which house to turn into.

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12 thoughts on “The Adventures of Arkwright”

That is an unusual sight! I once knew a research lab that had a pet tortoise, which freely roamed the hallways. The old fellow had “Return to Room 5011” painted on the top shell. He was asleep behind a doorway when i came across him. I forget what the actual room number was, it was so long ago, so 5011 will do. 🙂